Keeping a “Grateful Journal”

Do you feel like you’re mentally foggy or dragging in the morning? Maybe this can help 🙂 Since I’m routine-oriented, I’ve created a simple routine I’ve gotten into that has helped me feel more thankful and inspired when waking up in the morning. Every night before bed I write a few things down in list form in what I call a “grateful journal” and here’s what it looks like:

One thing I did for my business: Here you can write anything you worked at to improve your finances. I own an online shopping business and I make sure to do at least one thing each day to get me toward my financial goal. Maybe for you it could be that you consciously saved a portion of your money that you wanted to impulsively spend. Be creative with your answer, as long as it’s something that’ll make you feel good about a big or little accomplishment.

3 Things I did today that I’m proud of: This can be anything! Maybe you finished a work project early, or maybe it’s just that you woke up before your alarm. I’ve written things like “spent a good amount of quality time with my daughter today” or “ate healthy all day and didn’t cheat.”

3 Things I did today for others: Again, these can be however big or small. Even a very small gesture like getting the door for something counts. By writing it down will make you more conscious of how to treat others during your day so you can write it down later and feel good about it 🙂

3 Things I look forward to tomorrow: This is the part that helps you feel inspired to get out of bed the next morning. If you’re aware of all the great things you have to look forward to and show your appreciation for your life, you’ll learn to look forward to even the smallest things rather than thinking of what you’re dreading first. Maybe your day tomorrow looks bleak. Still write down whatever you can think of that you’ll look forward to. There’s something great in every day…

1 Thing I learned today: No matter how old we are, what our profession is, how much we think we know …. we can always learn more! Keep your eyes and ears open everyday to new lessons you can learn. Yesterday I wrote in my grateful journal that I learned how to create drop down menus on WordPress! Acknowledging this made me confident in my computer nerd skills that I thought didn’t exist 😀

1 Thing I did outside my comfort zone: In order to grow, we must push ourselves and get uncomfortable sometimes. Think of this one as a fun game. Throughout your day think of little things that might benefit you or others by going out of your normal routine/comfort zone. You’ll feel more confident for doing so!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to modify your “grateful journal” however you wish to help you become inspired about your life. I firmly believe that doing this every night can help build confidence and create a better mindset!